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Ten Pieces – Beethoven’s 5th Symphony

For my BA project I’m currently finalising the illustrations for each of 10 classical pieces of music for the a BBC “Ten Pieces” booklet. All of the pieces’ illustration will have this same look, and look a little abstract; trying to create images that people can relate to with the music but isn’t a specific image (music is conceptual after all). This one is for Ludwig Van Beethoven’s Symphony No.5 (1st Movement).

Beethoven’s 5th is automatically conceptual. There aren’t any images firmly associated with the music; it’s music that simply exists for its own sake. So I decided to focus on its famous motif “Da Da Da Duuuh!”, and created shapes to relate to the 4 notes. This is also a very lively piece of classical music changing its tone throughout, so decided to use black, white (partly to resemble piano keys) and red to give it a striking look. What do you think? Do you visualise Beethoven’s 5th differently? Comment your thoughts below.